Southern Province Becomes Sri Lanka’s First Fully Digitally-Enabled Province with GovPay
Southern Province Becomes Sri Lanka’s First Fully Digitally-Enabled Province with GovPay
The Southern Province has become Sri Lanka’s first fully digitally-enabled province with the launch of GovPay across all District and Divisional Secretariats. This milestone marks a major step in the nation’s digital transformation, enabling citizens to make secure and convenient online payments for government services.
The Information Communication Technology Agency of Sri Lanka (ICTA) marked a historic milestone yesterday (15th September 2025), with the official launch of GovPay across all District and Divisional Secretariats in the Southern Province — making it the first province in the country to be fully digitally enabled through GovPay.
The launch ceremony, held at the Matara District Secretariat under the patronage of Hon. Eranga Weeraratne, Deputy Minister of Digital Economy, brought together key leaders and stakeholders to celebrate this achievement. With this expansion, all three District Secretariats and 50 Divisional Secretariats in the Southern Province are now equipped to accept online payments for a wide range of government services.
GovPay, the Government Digital Payment Platform, allows citizens to make secure, convenient, and instant payments anytime, anywhere via internet and mobile banking portals of 14 partner banks, as well as 6 FinTech applications connected to the platform. This rollout brings the total number of government institutions integrated with GovPay to 131.
Since its national launch in February 2025 under the patronage of President Hon. Anura Kumara Dissanayake, GovPay has already processed over Rs. 110 million in payments for 1,767 government services, reaffirming its role as a cornerstone of Sri Lanka’s digital governance agenda.
Addressing the gathering, Hon. Eranga Weeraratne described the Southern Province’s achievement as “a milestone in our journey to create a transparent, efficient, and citizen-friendly public service.” He emphasized that digital services reduce inefficiencies, enhance transparency, and strengthen public trust in institutions, while ensuring that every citizen — whether in rural or urban areas — can enjoy the benefits of inclusive digital services.
The event was attended by Hon. Akram Illiyas, Member of Parliament; Hon. Lal Premanath, Member of Parliament; Mr. Harsha Purasinghe, Director of ICTA; Mr. Channa de Silva, CEO of LankaPay; Mr. Chandana Thilakaratne, Matara District Secretary; and senior government officials, along with representatives from ICTA and LankaPay.
This launch represents a major step forward in ICTA’s mission to drive Sri Lanka’s digital transformation and underscores the commitment to expanding GovPay nationwide, with other provinces expected to follow soon.
